The
Lumineers came to Milwaukee on Sunday night, playing the Riverside
Theater. The band, walking on stage to
Fleetwood Mac’s “The Chain”, started off the evenings sing-a-longs. These people came to sing, singing along with
pre-recorded Fleetwood Mac! The
Lumineers (a five piece for the concert) hit the stage as the sold out crowd
went crazy, started with my personal favorite “Submarine”. Right from the start you knew they were here
to play and entertain, catchy rhythmic vocals along with tight instrumentation,
they had the crowd in their hands. “The
Big Parade” with its simple laid back vocals leading up to booming drums and
hammering acoustic guitar had a southern church revival vibe. The most emotional moment of the night was
during “Slow it Down”, a song Wesley Schultz introduced about the band having
their gear stolen while on the road, was very sparse and powerful. The strangest part of the evening was their
cover of Bob Dylan’s “Subterranean
Homesick Blues”. It seemed out of place
with the rest of the crowd pleasers and gave the audience no chance to sing
along. Everyone seemed a little
confused. “Stubborn Love” was played
twice, once acoustically with no mics or amplification (a al Mumford and Sons)
and then a full on rave-up. Sixty
minutes later it was finished. Not bad
for a band with one album, selling out theaters on a Sunday night.
